on commercially produced french food

While you can't get decent chocolate chip cookies or Oreos that don't cost a fortune* in the biscuit aisle at a French supermarket, you do get many varieties of fantastically buttery, melt-in-the-mouth French biscuits that you learn to love. My favourites are palets bretons, which are essentially like shortbread except made with eggs plus extra yolks. I think of all the French shortbread-style biscuits, these have the highest butter content, and that is probably why they are so delicious. I can scoff down a whole box of these in one sitting if I'm not careful (and they certainly aren't low in calories).

*I suppose, compared to other brands of biscuits sold in the shops, Oreos are only slightly more expensive (as nothing is cheap, except for the self-proclaimed bargain brands). Considering how cheap they are in other places in the world though, it seems ridiculous to pay how much they charge here.

I bought a box of them to bring for the family I'm staying with while I'm in Holland, but I was too tempted and ended up opening it and eating them (I'll just stop by the supermarket and buy more tomorrow!) They aren't the prettiest of biscuits, but what they lack in aesthetic value, they make up for in taste.

(Though, honestly, this brand was rather crap in comparison to others I've eaten. This was my first time trying this one and I got it because the box looked so lovely, but I'm going to resort back to my usual brand because they taste muuuuch better. I can't wait to try making my own over the summer.)

I also tried making a French box mix cake for the first time, because as much as I hate using box mixes, anything's cool if it's French. (This was even prêt à cuire, meaning you don't even have to add in eggs or oil or anything.)

It... wasn't so good. It may have been because I might have overbaked it, but I definitely make a much better chocolate cake from scratch. It tastes a bit like a cakey brownie, or an oddly chewy cake. I guess a homemade cake trumps a box mix from anywhere anyday.

I'm on a two week holiday now, and after writing my last blog post, I got talking with a girl from my course and we ended up booking a flight to Italy the next day. So I'll be in Bologna and Venice, and possibly Florence or Milan too, from the 28th of April until the 3rd of May! The return flight, plus the cost of 3-star hotels in Bologna and Venice, cost less than just my airfare to go to Amsterdam. Insane.

Happy Easter!

Alas, the weather report could not have been more wrong and apart from a little drizzling on Saturday morning, it's been fairly blue skies all weekend and we could have probably survived without postponing our trip to the coast. And although they only predicted a 10% chance of precipitation for next weekend, with my luck I bet it will rain (ah, the pessimist in me). We'll see, I guess!

So instead of running around on the beach and climbing sand dunes yesterday, my hallmate and I baked up a storm, which was just as fun I suppose.

These caramel-almond sticky buns were terrific, but...

... although they are less impressive-looking, these caramel-topped vanilla cupcakes really stole the show. I have never made vanilla cupcakes that have tasted so good as well as been so soft and moist - this recipe is definitely my new go-to for a vanilla cake.

For the sticky buns, we used the recipe here at Little Blue Hen (an excellent food blog, might I add), but I absolutely must include the caramel cupcake recipe here.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Caramel Icing
Cake recipe adapted from Sky High by Piece of Cake and modified further by me - the original cake recipe is slightly more complicated, butter-wise (although it would probably taste better with it), but I simplified this baby down for your (or mostly my) convenience

Make sure the cupcakes are completely cooled, cold even, before icing them. If they are the slightest bit warm, they will tear when you turn them over to dip them in the hot icing. If the icing begins to harden while you are working with it, just set it over a medium flame and stir it for 30 seconds or so until it loosens up again.

Makes about 18 iced cupcakes*

For the cupcakes:
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature (I just used normal milk and added a tablespoon of vinegar - let that sit for a few minutes first)
1 1/2 cups cake flour (or what I did, about 1 3/8 cups all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon corn flour)
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil

For the caramel icing:
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into a few chunks
Generous 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Place an oven rack to the center position and preheat it to 350 degrees. Line 18 cups of 2 muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large measuring cup, whisk together, the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, buttermilk and oil and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour in the wet ingredients and whisk it all together (well, I just used a spoon and mixed it together like a maniac) until everything comes together and the batter is light and fluffy.

Portion the batter into the muffin tins and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly touched, 20-25 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cupcakes have cooled, make the icing. Put the dark brown sugar, butter and salt in a medium saucepan, and melt them together over medium heat, stirring often. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the milk and vanilla. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dump in the confectioners' sugar all at once and beat with a wooden spoon until the icing is thickened and smooth. Quickly ice the cupcakes by holding each by the base and dipping the tops in the hot icing, rolling them slightly to coat evenly. Turn them quickly upright so the icing will even out while it's still warm and will set smoothly. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

*This is true. Do not try to be clever (or lazy, rather) and think that the batter looks fine in just twelve muffin cups, because they will overflow in strange ways, and you will be disheartened (only momentarily though because they will still taste fantastic).


I still have a few of the buns and cupcakes left and it's taking everything in me not to eat them all right now. We ate so much yesterday it was sickening (but in a good way, of course).

Check out my new blog header, and Happy Easter everyone!

ceci n'est pas une perte de temps

Today I took a "personal day" (not an unusual occurrence in my life, aha) and instead of going to classes went into the city by myself, something I actually haven't done in a long time. I went into Fnac (essentially the French version of HMV) to buy some Moleskines cahiers and ended up spending quite a long time there standing in the jazz section listening to whatever was featured over the headphones. It felt a bit pretentious -- well, my whole day was rather pretentious -- but I liked it.

As the weather was lovely -- first day going out without a coat on, it was ridiculously warm outside considering how cold it was just a week or so ago -- I walked to the park to have lunch then sat there watching people while reading Frank O'Hara's Lunch Poems (I'm generally rather cynical when it comes to poetry, but I love this so much) and scribbling/sketching in my notebook. I hated to have to leave.

This weekend V and I went to stay with a family we know that lives in (or rather on the outskirts of) a city called Pau, a few hours south of Bordeaux. They had been in the US recently and brought back chocolate chips, which you can't find here, and we baked decent chocolate chip cookies for the first time since we arrived in France.

And while on the train we passed through a town that is definitely on my list of places to visit:

About starting a blog, again: I need something to motivate me to do something with my life, and hopefully keeping this will force me to get out there and do things I can actually write about. Plus, I'm only here in France for exactly two more months: I need to make the most of it.